Black Puppy

@MadScientist: Indeed, when you live with dogs, and see them close up, it is astounding to witness their range of emotions. Experience like this puts the lie to the notion that animals are some kind of unfeeling automatons.

@Alun Lambert: Thank you.

@Persian King: I think he looks bigger in the photo than he really is. He didn't seem particularly big to me, but then, my Great Dane doesn't seem big to me anymore.

@Melissa W.: Yes, we can't rescue them all, and that sometimes makes certain decisions very difficult.

@danthro: When you say you don't think of dogs as being "like" humans you're painting with a pretty broad brush. They're actually "like" humans in many ways, from the obvious to the not so obvious. They have eyes for instance, that look to us like human eyes, though they probably don't see in the same way we do. They have ears --though their hearing is probably "better." They have mouths and tongues. They eat. They need to drink water. They feel pain. They seek love, though they no doubt do not understand it conceptually as we do. And they give love.

I think what you're saying is that they aren't as "intelligent" as humans, and that is true. However, I'm reminded of a line in the movie, Waking Life, that goes something like: "there is more difference between an Albert Einstein and the average human being than there is between the average human being and a Chimpanzee."

I consider my dog my "friend." He obviously can't think of himself in those terms, and he's obviously not a friend in the complete sense of the word as it applies to human relationships. But he shares my feelings and emotions. He's sad when I'm sad. He's happy when I'm happy. He get scared and seeks reassurance. He's happy to see me when I've been away. He likes to play He likes being with me --and I him. He doesn't do things that hurt me. And he would probably give his life to protect me. I can't look at him as a separate entity, or like a "stranger," or as just an animal.

@Anthony Lambert: Thank you. Of course, if you live closely with animals, especially animals like dogs, it becomes obvious that they have feelings. I think a lot of the protests to the contrary are rationalizations for mistreatment --it's a lot easier for someone to live with their self if they can believe the creature they're abusing doesn't have feelings.

@sherri: We were inclined that way as well, but we weren't sure we'd be able to keep him because my dog --a Great Dane-- doesn't get along with some other dogs. Without keeping him ourselves there is the question of if someone else will turn out to be better or worse for him than his current "owner." While I'd love to make his life better, I'd sure hate to be responsible for making his life worse. BTW, in the next few days I will be posting another, possibly better photo, of a different pup encountered under similar circumstances, that left us with an even more gut wrenching decision.